Chapter 126: Spreading the Qingcheng Heart Method (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 126: Spreading the Qingcheng Heart Method (2)
Crunch. Crunch.
“So, Sect Leader. What do you intend to do from here?”
As Song Jeong stepped out of the Grand Purity Hall, First Elder Song Ji, who had been waiting around the corner, fell into step behind him and asked the question.
“What do you mean?”
“I am referring to your decision to call in the Successor of the Beggar Sect.”
Song Jeong stopped in his tracks. He scanned their surroundings. Only after confirming there was no one else nearby did he speak.
“How did you know?”
“It is no small matter for the man destined to be the next Chief of the Beggar Sect to travel all the way to Mount Qingcheng. Furthermore, Song Yeo-guk is someone who left our sect a long time ago. For those two to appear right in the middle of the meeting... it is far too dramatic to be a mere coincidence.”
“Haha. It seems I truly cannot hide anything from the eyes of the ‘Taoist of Ten Thousand Learnings.’”
Song Jeong chuckled and resumed his slow walk.
Crunch. Crunch.
Song Ji followed silently. Knowing this was a weighty topic, he waited for the Sect Leader to speak first.
“Song Ji.”
Just as they entered a narrow forest path, Song Jeong called his name.
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“What choice do you wish for Qingcheng to make in the future?”
Song Ji remained silent for a moment before answering.
“If they invaded Qingcheng using their own methods, then it is only right that we repay them in kind.”
“And what would our way be?”
“Blood for blood. A blade for a blade. Is that not the best way to settle such a debt?”
Song Jeong turned back to look at Song Ji, his face showing a hint of surprise.
Song Ji was a man who always maintained his principles from a fair and just standpoint. Among the elders, whenever the particularly fiery Song Hak would speak up, it was Song Ji who would calmly point out the logic and maintain the balance.
To hear such aggressive words from Song Ji was bound to be surprising.
At Song Jeong’s staring gaze, Song Ji’s lips twitched into a faint smile.
“You seem to have forgotten, Sect Leader. I, too, am of Qingcheng.”
“Hahaha, yes. Indeed. We are all of Qingcheng.”
Song Jeong began to walk slowly again.
It seemed that Song Yeo-guk’s timely appearance and his thunderous shout had been effective. Song Jeong felt once again that calling them had been the right decision.
“For now, we cannot let our emotions dictate the matter. We still have no definitive proof that the Samu Alliance is behind this,” Song Jeong spoke as they neared his quarters.
“I understand.”
“And we must consider the practicalities. More important than the identity of the culprit is whether we actually possess the strength to strike back.”
Song Ji nodded silently.
Justification is certainly important. The conviction that ‘we are right’ allows one to pour everything into a great battle. However, no matter how important the justification, a Sect Leader or an Elder responsible for the sect must understand reality and maintain a perspective that matches it.
Song Ji, Song Jeong, and even Song Hak—they all cherished the name of Qingcheng, but they could not fight the Samu Alliance without a chance of victory. That would be like striking a rock with an egg; it would only end in the destruction of the Qingcheng Sect in their generation.
“That is why the Qingcheng Heart Method that Seok Myeong is proposing is so vital.”
“Yes.”
Song Ji nodded.
In terms of pure destructive power, no martial art could rival the Demonic Cult’s Demonic Energy Absorption Art. However, that art was an untamable demonic beast. Once learned, it fundamentally corrupted the mind into madness, easily led to Qi Deviation, and in the worst-case scenario, transformed a human into a Geomma.
That was why it had been sealed. But if the long-standing efforts of the Taoists of the Azure Cloud lineage had finally blossomed through Seok Myeong...
“It won’t just be about revenge; it could change the entire landscape of the martial world. We are called one of the Nine Great Sects, but our position has fallen far too low in recent times.”
The pride of Qingcheng was certainly important. In the past, if they had a just cause, Qingcheng would not hesitate to grapple even with the most prestigious of sects. But the reason they could do so was ultimately because they had the strength to back it up. While they lacked that power, Qingcheng had to be content with barely hanging onto the tail end of the Nine Great Sects.
The Jianghu was, in the end, a contest of strength.
In terms of martial arts, they could not reach the level of Shaolin; as a Taoist sect, they fell short of Wudang. Even their reputation as a sword sect paled in comparison to Mount Hua. Because they were so suppressed by reality, even the spirit of Qingcheng had begun to erode.
“It has been too long since we were able to call what is right, right. Because we lacked power, Qingcheng has spent too much time walking on eggshells, unlike our true selves.”
Before they knew it, Song Jeong’s eyes had changed. His gaze felt clear... yet profoundly mysterious.
“It will go well. We are working toward that. Through this incident, I... I wish to see the old face of Qingcheng again.”
“Do you mean that ‘insolent Qingcheng’?”
“What does it matter? That is who we truly are.”
“Heh.”
Song Ji let out a low laugh as he followed behind.
Though he already knew it, Song Jeong was a man who had risen to the position of Sect Leader among the many brilliant figures of Qingcheng. He was the one who inherited the spirit of Qingcheng most deeply. In other words, he was once the most radical of them all.
*
“It’s been a while. You could at least say hello before you leave.”
Jung In-geol spoke as he watched Seok Myeong walk out of the Grand Purity Hall with an intrigued look.
“It’s not like I have a face worth showing in these times,” Song Yeo-guk grumbled.
“Good grief. Seeing how not a single elder even spared you a word, I can clearly see what your standing was like here.”
“Heh. I don’t care about that.”
Song Yeo-guk laughed and poked him in the ribs. “So? How far did your conversation with the Sect Leader go?”
“About what?”
“Oh, come on... do I really have to pry into every little detail? Won’t it all be revealed in time anyway?”
At Song Yeo-guk’s prodding, the Successor of the Beggar Sect gave a bitter smile. He glanced around for a moment before continuing.
“The Beggar Sect hasn’t uncovered much. There are rumors that a forbidden martial art has entered the Samu Alliance, and that the reason they are targeting Qingcheng is related to that.”
“The Demonic Energy Absorption Art?”
“It’s just a guess.”
“Hmm.”
Song Yeo-guk stroked his chin for a moment and muttered, “A storm is brewing in the Jianghu.”
“It might be more than just a storm. It could be a total upheaval of heaven and earth.”
“Is that how the Beggar Sect sees it?”
“The evidence is thin, but...”
“A gut feeling, then... So, what do you all plan to do?”
“We’re split down the middle. Some are indignant at Qingcheng’s actions, while others think that since things have already come to this, it might be the only way to prevent a bloodbath.”
It meant opinions were divided.
Upon hearing that the Azure Cloud Pavilion, Qingcheng’s martial research institution, had even dissected forbidden demonic arts, some of the Beggar Sect’s leadership lamented, saying, “That’s Qingcheng for you.”
Demonic arts were called demonic for a reason. No one in their right mind would touch a cursed technique that kills the practitioner as surely as it kills the victim.
“The response will be delayed, then. That’s troublesome...”
“It can’t be helped, even if it is troublesome. This could be an event that upends not just Qingcheng, but the entire Jianghu. Lately, there have been many rumors about strange Geomma appearing as well.”
“Hmm...”
Song Yeo-guk stroked his chin. Jung In-geol asked him, “So, my drinking buddy. What are you going to do?”
“Isn’t it obvious? This is still my home sect. I have to lend a hand in defending it.”
“With that body?”
Jung In-geol frowned as he looked at Song Yeo-guk’s loose sleeves and his temples, which had become flat like an ordinary person’s after losing his internal energy. “Are you planning to die for nothing?”
“Hardly. Do you think I don’t know my own condition? I’m thinking of gathering some people besides myself.”
“Who?”
After a brief pause, Song Yeo-guk spoke.
“The Twelve Guests.”
*
“Ugh!”
The woman who had squeezed into the stone crevice let out a groan. Even as she leaned against the wall, the pain did not subside, and she gasped for breath.
“Are you alright?”
Jeon Yi-yeong, supporting the woman’s trembling frame, spoke with a worried look.
Ever since she had begun practicing the Demonic Energy Absorption Art, the woman would occasionally suffer from seizures. The incomplete demonic art would sporadically detonate ominous internal energy within her meridians like firecrackers.
But this time was different. This was the first time she had been in such agonizing pain for three whole days.
“I-I’m fine...”
Barely suppressing the urge to vomit, she clamped her mouth shut. Her face was still etched with the effort of enduring the pain.
Jeon Yi-yeong sighed.
“Just how much power did you use for it to be more than you could handle? Most of Qingcheng’s masters were supposed to be heading toward our side.”
At those words, the woman’s hazy eyes began to find their focus. She was recalling the memory of that fight.
“Agh! Aaaaaah!”
But soon, another seizure seemed to begin as she screamed, a sound like tearing silk that pierced sharply through the cave.
“Rest for now. The experiments can proceed as scheduled without you. Your recovery is the top priority.”
Jeon Yi-yeong let out a long sigh.
Through countless long attempts, they had succeeded in restoring the Demonic Energy Absorption Art. By a stroke of heavenly luck, they had obtained the treasure known as the Essence Ring, and by using the Cold Ice Soft Art—said to be the pinnacle of ice-based techniques—they were able to absorb the demonic qi within it.
However, while they had succeeded in the restoration, demonic qi was not an energy that could be easily tamed. The more they tried to control it, the more fiercely it came alive, tightening the leash around their necks.
He had thought they had offset all the weaknesses. He thought that through the once-in-a-century talent known as the Black Lord, they could finally step out into the Jianghu. He never expected such a flaw to reveal itself here.
Was I wrong?
Perhaps it had been a mistake from the very beginning.
What kind of technique was the Demonic Cult’s Demonic Energy Absorption Art? It brought progress dozens of times faster than orthodox internal energy, but it slowly warped the practitioner’s personality and brought frequent, excruciating pain. The side effects were so severe that among the ancient elders of the Demonic Cult, almost none were capable of normal thought.
In the end, the Demonic Cult had come closer to self-destructing due to internal issues than falling to the Martial Alliance’s attack.
“Whew...”
He had only taken a few steps when the woman spoke.
“I couldn’t find it. It wasn’t there... But...”
Swallowing her screams, the woman—the Black Lord—spoke to him.
“But?”
“He... that man...”
“Enough. Tell me when you have calmed down,” Jeon Yi-yeong said without looking back at the struggling woman. Rest was more important right now. He would never be able to find another subject as vital as the Black Lord.
“He was... practicing it.”
“What?”
“He had... mastered it.”
But he had no choice but to stop in his tracks at her next words.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
The Black Lord’s groans subsided. Then, she opened her eyes.
“That man named Seok Myeong... he was practicing it. And without any side effects.”
“...”
“Qingcheng... has surely succeeded. Before we did.”
Her pupils were a deep, dark green.